Annotated Bibliography
Anick, Jesdanun. "Knowledge can be a bad thing; Technology boosts information flow Ability to discern useful data eroding: [ONT Edition]. " Toronto Star. 2 Jan. 2004, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Anick’s article explains how technology today is burdening us, because the amount of information is continually increasing. He takes a logical approach to the topic and supports it with his ideas. He describes how the amount of information we’re receiving is continually growing and creating so much more information for us to process. In his article he clearly shows how companies today are now trying to help people organize and manage their data. This was a simple straightforward article by Anick, to help the reader understand how we can organize all of this digital data in the world today. Anick has written many articles on technology for the Toronto Star and other newspapers such as the Townsville Bulletin and The Adelaide. This Article can help explain an important side to technology that too much can hurt us, but if we moderate and manage the data it can be a benefit.
Guernsey, Lisa. "Editor Explores Unintended, and Negative, Side of Technology. "New York Times 25 Nov. 1999. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
In Lisa Guernsey’s article from the New York Times, she covers the experience of a man named Stephen Talbott and his encounter with the negative side of technology, and how technology can only be our friend if we make it our enemy. She briefly explains his familiarity with technology. This article gives a real life perspective of how someone has made a change by not using technology all of the time. It gives the reader a better idea of what they can do to limit their technology use and find a freedom without it. Lisa’s article uses the credible source of Mr. Talbott to give a strong point of view and is quite helpful for the reader by giving an example to relate to and follow. This will help me by giving a personal experience of someone who has seen the negative results of technology. It will help to give a real life perspective of how technology influences us.
Gupta, Ajay. "Is Technology Helping or Hurting Education?" Technology Today…. 5 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
In Ajays’ article he discusses the topic of technology, and if it is helping advance education, or hurting students in their ability to grasp concepts. He targets specifically the diversity of information that we are receiving through social media such as Facebook, twitter, and other social sites that distract or take away from our attention to focus on other things. He even uses doctors to back up his information that young peoples ability to focus is diminished by so much information. His article is very simple and easy to understand giving good points for the reader to grasp the topic. Ajay has his own radio show called Technology Today Radio, where he discusses current technology topics, interviews CEO’s, Engineers and others who influence technology that betters our lives. I found his information useful to know how technology may hurt our education. It will help to discuss if all this jumbled information we are receiving is causing us to actually miss more important information.
"History of Technology." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
In the History of Technology in the Encyclopedia Britannica it explains the criticisms of Technology and the dilemmas that we have faced, and will continue to face because of the advancements and issues with technology. It goes over Ecological and Sociological influences of increasing technological advancements. It also touches on how technology increases our quality of life, but as well creates negative outcomes. The Encyclopedia Britannica has been operating since 1768. It’s a great source for reliable, trustworthy information. It has helped to summarize some of the biggest main points and issues with technology and its influence today and will help to show some major issues on the topic.
"Increased Use of Technology by K-12 Teachers Has Positive Effects on Perceived Student Learning, Development of 21st Century Skills: New study dispels myths about teachers' experience with technology and its effectiveness in the classroom. " PR Newswire 28 June 2010 ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
This article focuses on the topic of how technology is used with education. It goes over a study performed to see if technology was being incorporated in the education of K-12 students. Many teachers had felt concern that they weren’t prepared to incorporate 21st century technology into their teaching, but on the other hand many had felt advanced training helped them do a better job at incorporating technology. Walden University Walden's Richard W. Riley College who did the study and produced this article, offer degrees that support educators and help prepare them to teach. It gives them good credibility on the subject, as they are the ones who educate our educators. This article will help to understand how some feel about technology and how it’s being incorporated into our educational systems.
Conversation Summary
Technology is constantly on every ones minds, or at their fingertips. It is involved in almost everything we do. Technology aids us in so many ways, but is it helping us, or hurting us? Does technology crowd our minds with too much information? These are some of the questions that are being asked and it’s a very important topic with technology advancing at such high rates.
For some, technology can be a burden, they would prefer living without computers, cell phones and all of the other things that could potentially distract from the world today. For others, without a cell phone or computers for a day, would be like living on an island without food or water. I will describe some of the most recent viewpoints and topics of technology to see some of the negative effects it brings.
The view of Anick Jesdanun, from his article in the Toronto Star, is that the amount of data produced by technology today could be holding us back. A Berkeley study released in October estimates that five exabytes [equal to 5 quintillion bytes] of information got produced last year - about 500,000 times the size of the Library of Congress's print collections, and double the estimate for 1999. The bulk, 92 percent, is electronic, primarily on hard disks. Computers are getting faster, cell phones are getting smarter and the amount of data we’re able to receive and send is always increasing. The cost of storage for data is getting cheaper so it’s much easier to save every bit of data. Technology companies are now providing easier ways to sort and distribute these mass amounts of data we receive, but ultimately it will come down to each of us to determine how we sort through all of that data.
Lisa Guernsey states an important view through Mr. Stephen L. Talbott, by showing his personal experience of the negative sides of technology and how he found a balance. Talbott, a former software programmer and technical writer, has always been wary of computers and their influence on the human psyche. Even as he made a living editing books on computer programming, he wondered aloud whether the machines were making people's lives worse, not better. Stephen continued to depend on technology for his work for many years. He said that he hated it. He said working on a computer caused him eyestrain, neck aches, and the feeling that his brain was “turning to mush”. In 1998, he decided to make a resolve to change, and made the decision to only sit in front of his computer for only fifty percent of the time he worked. He started using a pen and a note pad to write, and said he wouldn’t write any other way. That discovery is one of many that appear to have honed Mr. Talbott's philosophy regarding technology. He sums it up with these words: ‘‘the computer is our hope if we can accept it as our enemy. As our friend, it will destroy us.'' Mr. Talbott found his own balance of technology, which brought him the most benefit. He still uses computers and technology almost everyday but always keeps a balance.
Encyclopedia Britannica sums up most of the major issues with technology in, “Perceptions of technology”. Judged entirely on its own traditional grounds of evaluation that is, in terms of efficiency, the achievement of modern technology has been admirable. We’ve come from steam engines to combustion engines, dreams of flying to putting a man on the moon. Early in the 17th century the natural philosopher Francis Bacon recognized three great technological innovations, the magnetic compass, the printing press, and gunpowder. All of those were great innovations that have helped to advance and improve society; as well other advances have helped to create a higher standard of living throughout the world. How can we say technology would be a bad thing if it has done so much for us? Whatever the responses to modern technology, there can be no doubt that it presents contemporary society with a number of immediate problems. These problems can be summed up in three main headings, controlling the application of nuclear technology, controlling the rise in population, and lastly the ecological problem. The gap between the first powered flight and the first human steps on the Moon was only 66 years, between the disclosure of the fission of uranium and the detonation of the first atomic bomb was a mere six and a half years. Britannica states, the manner of nuclear use depends entirely on human decisions, and in this matter of nuclear self-control the decisions are those of governments. There are other problems that face us with nuclear technology such as the disposal of radioactive waste, or how to fully harness and use nuclear power, but the real issue lies in the use of nuclear weapons in warfare.
Secondly, the population is a growing issue, as we just surpassed seven billion people in the world. It starts to raise other questions, like how can technology advance to continue to provide for all of these people? Medical technology has had an impact on the growing population, through new drugs and more advanced technology to enhance life and even prolong it. Using technology to limit the population may be the first efforts to control the rapid growth. Through Contraceptive devices and sterilization procedures technology has already begun to do its part. China, which accounts for nearly one quarter of the world’s population enacted a “one child family” campaign in the 1970’s to limit the population growth.
The last topic that is discussed is the ecological issue, which is concerned in keeping a healthy environmental balance. With such a great increase in population over the last few centuries’ industry has also grown immensely to cope with the amount of people that it needs to support. A few major issues that face us ecologically are, global warming, deforestation, destruction of the rainforests, and the careless exploitation of minerals all caused by our advances and use of technology. Britannica closed this topic by saying, it needs to be said that the fault for this waste-making abuse of technology lies with man himself rather than with the tools he uses. For all his intelligence, man in communities behaves with a lack of respect for the environment that is both shortsighted and potentially suicidal.
Overall we can see that the benefits of technology are often outweighed by the negative results, but it seems most important to find a balance of technology to help us gain the greatest benefits from it. With so many different sides and interpretations of technological influences it’s hard to find an exact answer for what we can do to use technology to our advantage, but it’s mostly left to the individual to figure that out.
Works Cited
Anick, Jesdanun. "Knowledge can be a bad thing; Technology boosts information flow Ability to discern useful data eroding: [ONT Edition]. " Toronto Star. 2 Jan. 2004, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Guernsey, Lisa. "Editor Explores Unintended, and Negative, Side of Technology."New York Times 25 Nov. 1999. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
"History of Technology." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
Position Statement
Technology is a wonderful thing that has improved our lives in so many ways, but perhaps we should consider the negative effects it brings, such as destruction from war, over population, and many ecological issues. As I began thinking of things that really matter to me, technology would always come up. I’ve become dependant on technology, whether it’s the stoplights that keep me safe as I drive to school, or the combustion engine that propels me there, heck if it weren’t for a simple alarm clock I wouldn’t wake up for school. Technology drives everything I do, but can often bring negative results into my life if I don’t find the right balance. Often times I find myself drowning in technology. I’ll have my TV on, while listening to music on my computer at the same time that I’m texting 5 different people, and writing this statement. Sometimes it’s important to take a step back from all of this digital data, and technology to get a grasp on what we’re doing. Turn off your cell phone while writing a paper, use a pen and paper every now and then, and learn to limit your technological distractions. As we learn to harness our technology and continually make efforts to limit the negative side effects, on populations, ecosystems, and individuals, we could eventually reach equilibrium in the world. It’s not something one person can do, but it would take the whole world to make a difference.
Argument Reflection
This project made me think more about what matters to me, and how technology has such in impact on everything we do. It definitely made me more conscious of the world around me, and how I manage my use of technology. Writing this paper helped me learn about what an annotated bibliography is, I had never used one, but I can see how it might be helpful for the reader. A lot of the previous concepts of rhetoric were very helpful in writing this argument summary and they will continue to be helpful in everything I do. The most entertaining part while creating this project was the visual argument and presentation. When we use rhetoric visual concepts to make an argument it makes the point clearer for me, and as well for the audience. I found it fun, yes I said fun in an English reflection, and it made me think much deeper about the topic in order to display it visually. I wish I would have put more time into the visual portion to make it clearer. I learned many things about rhetoric throughout this term, from the three appeals, ethos, logos and pathos, and the other concepts of detail, balance, point of view, and others. I notice them more in the world and how people use them to get what they want, persuade others, and as well help others. With a greater understanding of them, I can become a much better writer as I implement the concepts in my life. English 1010 definitely provided a good foundation to build on for further English classes, working skills, and any other aspect of my life. Specifically this class with Professor Howe was very enjoyable, she made writing feel more free and expressive.
